Thun, Spiez

We stopped in the beautiful little town of Thun (about 30 minutes from Bern). The downtown area is on an island formed by the water coming out of the Thuner See. There are little covered bridges crossing the river, and openable dams beneath the bridge control the water level in the Thuner See.

As we looked north from the island, we could see the Thun castle on the hill to the left, and the church on the right. One shopping street is double decked with stores. A bevy of swans had gotten tired of the river, and were proudly parading through the rain past the city hall and the police station, just as if they own the place — and maybe they do.

As we drove through the little town of Spiez (a few miles east of Thun) the first time, we stopped to take some pictures of that beautiful town, with views over the tile roofs, and the boats docked near the hotels built on the peninsula extending into the Thuner See. During other visits we tried to find that exact spot, without success. One year we found it, but by now additional building had been built, and a tangle of electric and telephone wires clogged the fascinating view.

During a couple of different trips we spent the night in nearby Weissenburg, in a campsite reached through a covered bridge. Once we walked up the road and on up the hill to see the view, but Emmy gave up and walked back to the camper. I was amazed at the beautiful view, and was even more amazed to find I had run out of film. No way to get to the camper for film, and back up here before the sun disappeared.

Another year we drove from Bern toward Thun, hoping we could see the Jungfrau and the other mountains in the Interlaken area. Since the sun had disappeared, we stopped in Thun for breakfast, then walked around a while, hoping the sun would reappear. Finally we drove on to Spiez, then started the drive to Interlaken. Suddenly the weather turned so bad we knew there was no way we could see the mountains.

We were concerned we would be beleaguered by a bad storm, so we turned back to Spiez, went south over the mountains, past the covered bridge that leads to the Weissenburg campsite we have used in other years.

Then on to Martigny Ville and across the treacherous and precipitous mountain road to Chamonix, France.